A Matter of Survival
by itachi's future wife
Summary: Who can you trust but yourself? When it seems that no hero is coming to save you, you'll be surprised what you'll do to survive. Previously called 'Challenges' Warning: mentions of sexual abuse. Possible triggers. TeamFamilyCentric
1. Secrets

AN: Okay, so this is how this story is going to work: each chapter will be about a different teammate and the private challenges they face and how all of their separate issues intertwine and eventually come to a destructive climax. First chapter is about Robin. The chapters will range in length depending on the challenge the character faces. Please enjoy.

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Secrets

Dick Grayson had learned the value of secrecy. He and his mentor were constantly shrouded in secrets. To the people of Gotham, they were nothing more than ghost that thrived in the night.

Yes, Dick Grayson knew all about secrets.

However, never before had he kept a secret from his mentor. They relied on trust, on honesty. It was how their partnership-how their family- worked.

Maybe that's why he felt so guilty about keeping one now.

It had all started very carefully. A casual touch on his shoulder. A prolonged glance. At first, Dick had been unaware of what was happening. Bruce had been working a conference and he enjoyed the extra attention. It was nice.

At least he thought it was.

He remembered his mother telling him about the 'bad touch' when he was a kid. Haly had kicked one of their clowns out of the troop after an unfortunate incident with a ten year old girl.

So, in his head, he knew that what was going on was wrong. No one should have been allowed to touch him that way. No one should have been allowed to get that close.

"You tell anyone and they'll take you away from Bruce. You'll be out on the streets again."

That was his worst fear and his tormentor knew just how to use it against him.

For fear of losing his second father, Dick kept his mouth shut.

Yes, Dick Grayson knew all about secrets and how dangerous they could be. But he would close his eyes and weather the storm if it kept him and Bruce together.

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"Mr. Grayson, please stay after class." Dick's breath caught at those words. No, not today. Please not today.

"Yes of course, Mr. Denman." He replied smoothly, careful to make sure his voice didn't shake.

"Oh, what'd you do this time?" Artemis Crock sat next to him. Even though she loved the squirt, it could be annoying how much more about math he knew than her. Still, he was one of the first friends she made at Gotham Academy.

"Not sure but I guess I'll find out. Don't wait for me in the courtyard." Dick replied easily.

"You really think he'll keep you through lunch?"

"You never know." Dick turned his face to the board and pretended to pay attention. He didn't feel like talking anymore.

The class went on as normal and all too soon, it ended. Dick squeezed his eyes shut for a moment and he took a deep breath.

"Are you alright, Richard? You look a little flushed." The man was in front of him, wiping any stray hair from his face. "Open your eyes for me Richard. You know how I love your eyes." He breathed. Richard. He always called him Mr. Grayson during class and Richard during their 'encounters'.

Dick slowly opened his eyes.

"There they are. You've always had such beautiful eyes. They remind me of sapphires." Denman said rather nonchalantly. "Go lock the door and pull the blinds. Hurry, I've missed you."

Dick obediently stood from his seat and went to lock the door. If he remembered correctly, this was Denman's planning period. The bell wouldn't be ringing for a while. Slowly, he pulled the blinds down and turned to face the monster.

"Come here, Richard. You're so far away. I can't hold you when you're so far away." The monster spoke with a man's voice. It had a man's face too. Brown hair and green eyes. Young, handsome, monster. Dick kept his eyes to the floor as he walked across the room.

Denman's hands were on his shoulders pulling him back towards his desk. He sat the boy down and then kneeled to the floor. "I hate these uniforms, no matter how good you look in it. It's just too much fabric." He complained as he opened the front of Dick's blazer. His fingers nimbly. Undid the buttons on Dick's dress shirt revealing the pale flesh underneath.

"So beautiful." He said quietly. He leaned in and kissed Dick's pale chest. "I've missed you so much, Richard. I've missed my angel."

Angel. Dick struggled to hold in his scoff. He was no angel. He was a whore, a filthy, disgusting-

"Keep your eyes open for me, Richard. I want to see your eyes."

Inside his mind, Richard Grayson let out a scream.

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"You were gone for a while. Everything okay?" Artemis noted when she finally caught up with the younger teen.

"Yeah. He just had some questions for me. That's all. I really need to get home." Dick replied shortly.

"Oh. Sorry. You just came out of his room a little upset-"

"It's none of your business, Artemis! God, leave me alone!" Dick suddenly shouted at her.

Artemis stopped in her tracks. "Sorry. Didn't mean to offend. I'll leave you alone if it's that bid a deal." She snapped at him. "You know what, you can head to your next class by yourself. I don't need this." She stormed away from him.

Dick stared after her, agony gripping at his chest. Why had he done that? Why had he snapped at her of all people? He needed someone to talk to.

"Only one more class left, Grayson." He told himself. "You can make it. Just hold on." He silently prayed he could.

The rest of the school day passed quickly and Dick stuck as far away from Denman as he possibly could. No need to give the guy an idea for a repeat.

"Master Richard, I'm here. You look a little by dazed." He heard Alfred's voice say. He'd been so occupied looking for Denman that he hadn't noticed the man.

"Oh! Sorry Alfred! Guess I didn't see you there!" Dick plastered fake grin on his face and slid easily into the car.

"Master Bruce has told me to inform you that he will be late getting home. He's in a meeting."

"Oh, of course. Thanks Alfred." No zeta beaming to see the team without Bruce's permission. He was on his own. God, he could still feel his hands. They were everywhere snatching more and more of his innocence as they went along. When was it going to end?

Dick slowly raised his head to look out the window as he departed from the school.

Denman stood in the courtyard, watching him.

For a moment, Dick actually considered slitting his own throat. Maybe that would make the misery end.

"It's not worth it." He whispered to himself. That was slowly begining to sound like a lie.

Dick Grayson had fallen into the arms of a monster.

And now this secret was proving to much to bear.

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Do you want more. Next chap would be Wally.


	2. Disguises

Disguise

Wally West had been mistreated for most of his life. He was used to being thrown around his house, into wall and down stairways. He'd been beaten down so many times that he had actually come to expect the violence. It was through the trials he faced that he had mastered the fine are of disguising himself to all around him. At just ten years old, he had grasped the fine art of make-up. He was somewhat proud of the fact that he could cover up a black eye in ten seconds flat. It was just his luck that he and his mother had the exact same skin complexion. No one ever noticed.

He knew his uncle loosely suspected that something was wrong. There were times when the older man would pull Wally aside and just stare at his face. Wally would gulp, hoping the man couldn't see what lay beneath the thin layer of concealer.

"Are you okay?" He would always ask. "Is everything alright at home? I know Rudy's been yelling at you a lot. You know you can always come to my place if you need something." He'd heard them all before.

Wally would flinch at those words. He didn't want his uncle to care so much. "Yeah. Yeah Uncle B, everything's great. Why're you always worrying? And he's not yelling that much, no more than usual. You know how hardheaded I can be." He would laugh hollowly.

"You're not that hardheaded Wally. You're a really good kid. And if something is going on at home-"

"Nothing is going on. He's just being a dad, Barry. I understand why he does what he does." That was a lie. He didn't understand why the man he was supposed to call his father would hurt him so bad. He didn't understand why his mother would leave him in the hands of a monster.

But Barry didn't need to know any of that. Wally would shake his head dismissively and try to quell his uncle's worries.

Barry would just shake his head in disbelief and walk away.

Wally would heave a sigh of relief and then head to the bathroom to check his cover.

Wally West was a king of disguise. He could hide himself just as easily as the son of the bat. And he would keep hiding himself. This was something he could handle on his own.

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"Damn it Wally! How man times have I told you not to leave your crap out here like this? I could have killed myself! Get out here and clean it up you little shit!" Wally pulled on his hair. He'd just gotten home and he was already getting yelled at? What had he done to piss off his dad now?

He walked slowly and carefully out of his room knowing how much his dad hated his super speed.

"Sorry dad. I didn't mean to leave anything out when I left." He'd dropped his back on his way to help his uncle stop a bank robbery. He'd forgotten to pick it up again.

"Don't you talk sharp to me, boy! I'm your father. You do what I say! Just because you think you're so big and bad now, I'm still in charge here!"

"I know, I'm sorry. I promise I'll do better." Wally had his signature apology memorized. He kept his eyes on the floor and waited for his father's anger to dissipate.

"Oh, you'll do better. You'll do a hell of a lot better if you think you're gonna live in my house, boy." Rudolph shoved him backwards. "And don't you eyeball me, boy. Your beatnik uncle isn't here to watch your ass." Wally bristled at the insult towards his uncle.

"Don't talk about him that way." He huffed.

"What? What was that? You think you can talk to me that way in my house? You think you're so big and bad?" Rudy's hand flew out with speed to rival the Flash. Wally suddenly found himself pinned against the wall, his father's hands around his throat. "You wanna come at me like a man? Fine, I'm gonna treat you like a man!"

Wally's eyes bulged out of there sockets as he struggled for air. God, was he really going to do it this time? Was he really going to kill him?

"Dad-"

"Rudy! Rudy stop! You're killing him!" Mary West screamed. "Rudy please! Let him go."

"Shut up! You don't tell me how to handle my boy! I'm his father and I'll do what I please with him." Rudy released his group and Wally crashed to the floor. He clutched at his throat, gasping for breath.

"Rudy why! Why do you always do this?" Mary knelt by her son. "Don't tell me how to discipline my boy! I know what's best for him. I know!" Rudy reached down and snatched Wally up by the collar of his shirt. "He knows I'm his father! He knows!" Wally fought his father's grip as hard as he could, trying his best not to hurt the man.

"Wally!"

Wally finally broke free and raced from his home, his father's screams following him.

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Wally knew better than to return home while his father was still awake. He would face hell in the in the morning if he didn't get out in time but most of his father's rage would have disappeared. He snuck into his house through one of the open windows on the first floor. The kitchen was quiet as Wally's feet landed on the floor.

"Wally? Honey? Is that you?" He he heard his mother whisper.

"Yeah, it's me." He replied just as quiet. No need to wake the big bad wolf.

"Oh Wally..." she could somewhat make out the outlines of her husband's fingers on Wally's neck. She wrapped her arms around him and held him tight. "I'm going to leave him. We're going to run away together and you'll be safe. I'll never let him touch you ever again." She promised. Her nimble fingers ran through his hair quickly, trying to offer some sort of comfort.

"Mom, you said that last time, and the time before that. I've stopped believing you." He replied.

"Wally, I mean it this time-"

"No you don't! You love him! You aren't going to leave him! Not for me! You care more about him than you do about me!" Wally suddenly shouted. He heard feet rustling above his head and knew his father had awoken. "I'm spending the night at the cave. Bye." He had no desire to face his father that night. Best to get out of dodge while he had the chance.

"Wally-" but he was already long gone. He'd grabbed his backpack on his way out and raced for the cave. Hopefully, everyone was already asleep. He didn't feel like being integrated.

He stepped through the nearest zeta beam and into the quiet of the cave. It was dark meaning M'gann and Superboy had already gone to bed. Wally crept quietly through the halls and into the bathroom. Wally reached into his bag and grabbed out his mom's old compact. She'd just assumed she'd lost that one and he'd never told her different. The bruises on his neck were already beginning to show. Best to cover them now.

Wally West could tell you a thing or two about disgusies. As he stood in the bathroom, carefully conceling his bruises, he knew that he could hide his ailment. Not even Robin would be able to see through it. Wally West would face his father on his own and do what he needed to survive.

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So, I'm not sure. Part of me wants to go to M'gann next chapter but the other part says go back to Robin. Tell me what you think.


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